I broke out in cold sweat upon hearing his words and subconsciously took out my phone to call Boris. After the call, I looked at him. “Now what?” He met my gaze and proposed, “If you don't want to die, you can get your father's subordinate to escort you to a hotel. But if you're scared of dying, you can stay here and wait for news of Ashton before making plans.” Needless to say, I felt more secure choosing the latter. “Are you fine with me staying here?” He snickered softly and spat, “No, but do you have any other choice?” Not really. In Holden's huge villa, I was arranged to stay in the room next to his. Boris got right to work right after receiving my call. I could only sit and wait in the villa because there was nothing else I could do. Holden, on the other hand, seemed very relaxed. After ending a video conference in his study, he went directly to the swimming pool located behind the villa to swim. There were only a few people in the villa. Hence, it was very quiet and lonely. Feeling restless, I went downstairs and made my way to the courtyard. I was a little surprised to see a vegetable garden in the backyard. It wasn't the vegetable garden that surprised me per se, but the fact that a playboy like Holden had the patience and heart to plant vegetables, not to mention take care of them so well. There were even flowers scattered on top of the walls of the yard. Somehow, this layout didn't look like it was done by the maids. The cucumbers in the garden were already fully ripe and hanging from their vines. The leaves were withered and browned, and so were the branches. Only the thick and juicy-looking cucumbers looked visually pleasing. Perhaps it was because no one wanted to eat cucumbers, so they were left to grow unattended like this. On the other side were tomatoes. Some were already withered, except for a few juicy purple tomatoes hanging from the branches which looked to be overripe, probably because no one came to pluck them for a long time. I noticed that there were some weeds in the garden. Bored out of my mind, I squatted and started clearing them away. Hearing footsteps behind me, I assumed that it was Holden. Without looking behind, I asked, “Did you grow all of this by yourself? I never thought that a young, cynical man such as you would be so down to earth.” When I didn't get a response, I waited for a while behind looking over my shoulder. It was a woman who looked to be approximately forty years old. She was in a grey chiffon shirt, paired with a pair of black wide-leg pants and flats which were slightly stained with mud. It looked like she had just walked on the muddy ground. She was holding a basket in her hand and wore a straw hut on her head. With a faint smile on her lips, she looked at me gently. “Are you Holden's friend?” I was stunned for a moment, and my mind whirred as I wondered who this woman was and who she was to Holden. At the Taylor residence, I heard Kate say that Holden's mother was an escort. According to my calculations, she should be more than fifty years old. Hence, this woman was probably not Holden's mother. Could this be his sister or aunt? I walked out of the garden and returned her smile. “Hello. Did you grow these vegetables? It's very well-maintained.” The woman smiled tenderly and handed me a bunch of grapes from her basket. “Have a taste. These are freshly picked and free from pesticides, so you can eat without worry.” I smiled and reached out to pluck a grape from the bunch. After popping it into my mouth, my eyes instantly widened when I bit into it. “It's really sweet. Did you grow them yourself?” She nodded with a smile. “I planted them last year and picked them today.” Then, she moved her gaze to the weeds I had just pulled out and continued, “Do you like growing vegetables too? I've been wanting to clear these weeds for a few days now, but it kept slipping my mind because of how busy I've been. Thank you!” I shook my head with a smile. “These vegetables are a bit old and can only be stored as seeds.” She nodded, then put her basket aside and looked at me. “Would you like to clear up this garden with me? We have to pick all these vegetables, take the seeds out, then dry them and wait until next year to plant them again.” I was glad to help. Waiting for news inside the villa was mentally exhausting, so I would rather do something to distract myself. After chatting for a while, I learned that the woman's name was Jane Stone. She only told me that she lived here and occasionally took care of the garden to pass the time. Hence, I surmised that she was probably hired by Holden to tend to the villa's yard. We collected all the vegetables in the garden together, then dug out the seeds and washed them before leaving them out to dry. Although it wasn't much work, it was quite a therapeutic process. I found it satisfying to watch the basket gradually fill up with ripe vegetables. As I sliced open the washed cucumbers and used a spoon to scoop out the densely packed seeds from head to tail before putting them in a winnowing basket to dry, my mind was free from worrying thoughts. All I had to do was concentrate on the task at hand.